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Famous Canadian Cellist Amanda Forsyth joins PRISMA faculty

Friday, December 12, 2014

PRISMA is excited to announce the famous Canadian cellist Amanda Forsyth as a guest artist at PRISMA 2015. Ms. Forsyth will perform the second cello concerto of Victor Herbert with the Pacific Philharmonic on June 27. She will also take part in the chamber music concert with the c minor string quartet of Johannes Brahms with the other string faculty.

A selection of reviews:

“Every soloist-especially every young female cellist-has to contend with the long shadow of Jacqueline Du Pré, whose performances and recordings remain touchstones. The remarkable performance by Amanda Forsyth banished comparisons. Projecting a big, burnished timbre, the young Canadian showed herself in sympathy with Elgar’s work.”

SUN-SENTINEL

July 2009

“Music lovers have heard lots of great chamber music played by sterling artists. Pride of place goes predictably to the Zukerman Chamber Players….. They are led of course by the great violinist Pinchas Zukerman. He has chosen admirable players to form a string quintet of very high rank … and the extraordinary cellist Amanda Forsyth, who is Zukerman´s match.”

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

2 September 2008

The effusive critical acclaim for cellist Amanda Forsyth’s playing and technique is as varied as the range she displays as an internationally in-demand soloist, chamber musician and principal cello of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra. Critics have praised her vibrant, assertive and energetic sound while also hailing her as a warm, lyrical, articulate and gracious musician. In all roles, she is noted as a performer of distinction and dedication with impeccable technique and command.

In addition to frequent performances and tours with the Royal Philharmonic and Israel Philharmonic Orchestras, she regularly performs with such orchestras as Orchestre Radio de France, Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra, including their summer tour of Mediterranean island venues in 2011. In the U.S. she has performed with the San Diego, Colorado and Grand Rapids Symphonies and toured with the Dallas Symphony in both Texas and on its tour of Florida, and with the Oregon Symphony. She made her debut at the Moscow Conservatory in 2009, returning with the Moscow Virtuosi in both Moscow and St Petersburg in 2011 for performances that were filmed for national television broadcast. In June 2012 Ms. Forsyth appeared with the Mariinsky Orchestra in St Petersburg conducted by Valery Gergiev and was reengaged as part of the reopening of the hall in 2013. Her performances with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra have earned critical acclaim and she has performed return engagements in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sichuan, Shenyang and Beijing. In March 2014, Ms. Forsyth made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ms. Forsyth began the 2014-15 season with her first homecoming tour of South Africa performing Malcolm Forsyth's Elektra Rising as well as chamber music engagements with the Zukerman Trio. She also tours the United Kingdom with the National Arts Centre Orchestra. As featured soloist, Ms. Forsyth joins the IRIS Orchestra in Memphis, the Korean Chamber Orchestra in Moscow, Vienna and Seoul, and the Maggio Musicale Orchestra in Florence. She performs Brahms’ Double Concerto for the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s Gala. Returning to Australia, Ms. Forsyth performs with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Perth as well as a chamber appearance in Sydney. Ms. Forsyth collaborates with violinist Giora Schmidt and pianist Philip Fisher for Beethoven and Tchaikovsky Piano Trios as part of Bargemusic's Masterworks Series in New York City. Further tours with the Zukerman Trio bring her to Italy, Spain, China, Korea, and the Miyazaki Festival in Japan.

As a founding member of the Zukerman ChamberPlayers she has visited Germany, Israel, Italy, Finland, Holland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Turkey, and cities such as London, Vienna, Paris, Belgrade, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Warsaw and Barcelona, and performed for the Petra Conference for Nobel Laureates in Jordan. In addition this ensemble has had a series in New York at the 92nd Street Y and has performed several South American tours. In March 2013 Ms. Forsyth returned to Asia with the ensemble for concerts in Taiwan, China and Japan followed by concerts in Santa Monica, CA and Scottsdale, AZ. Summer festival appearances included Ravinia, Tanglewood, Verbier and Edinburgh in 2013. She has performed regularly at Japan’s Miyazaki Festival and in May 2011 she appeared in gala fundraising concerts following the Japanese earthquake disaster. In late 2013 Ms Forsyth returned to Australia for performances with the Sydney Symphony, the West Australian Symphony and the Adelaide Symphony.

Born in South Africa, Ms. Forsyth moved to Canada as a child and began playing cello at age three. She became a protégé of William Pleeth in London, and later studied with Harvey Shapiro at the Juilliard School. After two seasons with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra she became the youngest principal ever selected by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra—a post she occupied for six years. She was appointed principal cello of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1998.

Ms. Forsyth’s recordings appear on the Sony Classics, Naxos, Altara, Fanfare, Marquis, Pro Arte and CBC labels. In 2002 she was the subject of the Bravo! Canada television documentary Amanda Rising: The Amanda Forsyth Story. The program followed Ms. Forsyth’s life from her early years as a young South African immigrant to her later success on the international music scene. In 2007 Ms. Forsyth featured prominently on Wynton Marsalis’s soundtrack for The War, Ken Burns’s widely-acclaimed World War II documentary filmed for PBS.

Outside of the concert hall, Ms. Forsyth is an enthusiastic and accomplished combat karate practitioner who currently holds her red belt in the sport. Ms. Forsyth performs on a rare 1699 Italian cello by Carlo Giuseppe Testore.

Made possible by the Government of British Columbia, BC Arts Council, City of Powell River, Tla'amin Nation, PR Regional District, PR Community Foundation, PR Community Forest, RBC Emerging Artists Fund and the Powell River Council for Arts and Culture.